OK. We finally decided to buy!

I'll admit that I'm a bit nervous about posting. The last time I asked for advice about buying in to DVC the thread turned in to a nasty discussion about the character of people who finance their DVC purchases. I just want some honest input from folks who've gone down this road before.

We just returned last night from a most magical 10 day trip at the Boardwalk. We've been interested in buying DVC for several years now but this stay has pushed us over the edge and confirmed to us just how much we would love to own at this beautiful and relaxing resort.

About my family. We are a family of three with our daughter being 9 years old. So I foresee that for at least the next 10 years we'll be travelling during the summer months. We would also love to have the ability to bring some extended family members with us from time to time. We travel to Disney every year, sometimes twice a year. Our average trip length is 10 days with lots of resort down days. We like to take it slow and relax. Resort amenities are very important to us.

We're interested in buying resale. It will get us more points at a lower cost. I understand that we won't be able to use our points for anything other than the DVC resorts. We're absolutely fine with that. I don't want to buy into DVC to travel the world. I want to secure deluxe accommodations and save money on all of our future trips.

Some questions:

1. What would be a good use year to aim for knowing that the majority of our trips will be during the summer months?

2. How many points should we buy? I understand that this is an extremely difficult question to answer for other people. I worry about buying the "minimum" number of points to get into a standard view studio. How many are there really? I don't want to worry about being able to get in to our home resort. I understand that there is usually always availability at say SSR or OKW but I have no interest in staying there. I want to stay at the Boardwalk so I'll buy at the Boardwalk.

3. For those of you who bought resale, how was the experience? Any advice or tips you can give me?

I'm sure that many more questions will arise from these few. I really appreciate any help my fellow Disboards members can give me to start this very exciting journey!

1. April or June - right at the beginning of your vacation window - if you have to cancel you still have many months left during the year to bank if you want

2. We're BWV also - we looked what we WANT in our "main" vacation of the year (1 BR pool view at BWV in Sep/Oct - 154-166 pts) then rounded UP to the available contract sizes (in our case, we bought 175, would have considered up to 225 - can ALWAYs use extra points - or rent them out if banking builds up more than we use in a year)

3. Our experience through TSS was very business-like. Excellent service from Jason/team. They cannot control sellers - don't be afraid to walk away if you believe a seller is being unreasonable - but for the total investment, $3-4/point would not have stopped us from buying.

Consider renting points for a vacation to try it out - we were glad we did

Congrats on deciding to take the plunge! You will enjoy being a DVC owner. We have 7 contracts that we first started buying in 2006...5 resales and 2 direct (4 home resorts, 2 UY and 505 total points).

I feel that UY isn't all that important...or it hasn't been for us. We have 2 UY (June and Aug) and they have worked fine for us. We have done trips all over the calendar year (but due to hectic schedules the past few years we can vacation Aug, Nov and Dec and likely will continue for the next 3 years). We have stayed at ALL the east coast DVC resorts except VGF...and actually used our OKW points for all the resorts. We like all the resorts but do have an order of preference but we like to switch things up and do different resorts for different trips.

So, for you (a new member), I wouldn't stress over UY so much and just decide on resort and look for the best deal. For number of points, we started with 200 initially...wished we bought two 100 pointers instead and all the contracts we've since added have been 25-100 pointers (they are easier to re-sell and it makes it easier to downsize if needed). Adding on is easy (be careful it become addictive) so even if you go too small at first, you can always add on later.

Home resort...now we first chose OKW to get the most points for our money and, as I mentioned, we have been able to use those OKW points to stay all over. But still, we too love BWV and BCV (location) and I find myself wishing most (or all) of our points were there. There are times when we could not get a resie at either of those places (when we wanted to). We did just, finally, add on 2 contracts at BWV (80 points total...can get 4-5 weeknights in a studio per year) so that we can stay there for F&W. And the resorts we do have are good for point conserving so I do like that...we can book BWV standard view, AKV value rooms and OKW. Plus we can get HHI in the warmer months (and that is tough to get).

Happy hunting for your contract!!! And keep us posted on what you end up getting.

We were going to get 200 points but decided on 210 since it was just a few dollars more and could possibly add a night on certain trips. I wish we had known to break the contract into two, maybe 100 and 110. You are correct in that your trips will change and amenities become so much more important with DVC ownership in my opinion.

We purchased direct and financed and have enjoy every penny and every second.

UY is free insurance. If you can pick a UY that allows you to keep from losing your points, why wouldn't you?

If you choose a UY that is the start of your typical 8 month vacation period, you can bank your points during those 8 months to keep from losing them should you nee to cancel your vacation.

You need to decide what resort is your favorite and buy there. Then you need to look at the point charts for the different resorts, decide on the point season, size of rooms and categories that you will need points for. Decide how often you will need a room. Average the point totals required and buy that number of points.

Not to hijack your thread, OP, but I have a question for some of the PPs: What is the advantage of buying 2 separate contracts for 100? My husband and I have decided to take the plunge, too...but I'm trying to get every ounce of info first! TIA!

Not to hijack your thread, OP, but I have a question for some of the PPs: What is the advantage of buying 2 separate contracts for 100? My husband and I have decided to take the plunge, too...but I'm trying to get every ounce of info first! TIA!

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To have 2 home resorts where you can alternate years having 200 points to use at 2 resorts with 11 month booking windows.

Not to hijack your thread, OP, but I have a question for some of the PPs: What is the advantage of buying 2 separate contracts for 100? My husband and I have decided to take the plunge, too...but I'm trying to get every ounce of info first! TIA!

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Smaller contracts give you more flexibility should you sell later. Instead of selling your one 200 point contract, you can sell only 100 points and still have 100 left. Most contracts are larger due to Disney's minimums so any owner wanting to buy some additional points usually wants a smaller contract. Higher demand means a higher price.

Smaller contracts give you more flexibility should you sell later. Instead of selling your one 200 point contract, you can sell only 100 points and still have 100 left. Most contracts are larger due to Disney's minimums so any owner wanting to buy some additional points usually wants a smaller contract. Higher demand means a higher price.

I'll say this more points aren't always better , you need to pay MF on those points for a long time . If buy what you know you will use on a regular basis .

For the occasional bigger trips there are ways you can get more points . You can add I think 24 points per year at I think $15 pp through MS . You can also find another member to transfer you points to your account for around $10-12 pp . Keep in mind you can only transfer points in or out 1 time per year though .

For my situation I think I will not have an issue transferring points in for larger trips . I only plan on going once ever 2 years I have 100 points that gets me a 1br every 2 years for just about a week . If I wanted the full week I'll just buy points from MS , 224 points pretty much get 1br in all the older resorts for a week . If say I want to get a treehouse villi aid need around 100 points I just find someone to transfer me 100 for $1000-$1200. That's better them carrying 50 more points at 4%rate for MF for a bunch of years when I may inky get a THV a few times throughout my DVC contract .

Not to hijack your thread, OP, but I have a question for some of the PPs: What is the advantage of buying 2 separate contracts for 100? My husband and I have decided to take the plunge, too...but I'm trying to get every ounce of info first! TIA!

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Carful though as this advice is normally aimed at those buying direct as if you are buying 200 points from Disney they can slit them into 2 100 point contracts. However if buying resale two 100 point contracts may cost you a bit more than 1 200 point contract. Smaller contracts sell at a premium and you would pay closing twice

The advice about getting an UY just before your usual travel habits is a good one and I suggest to go for that.
However, if the UY is good for your summer trip, it won't for your occasional second trip if it's in the winter. Also UY matters only if you have to cancel your trip. So I would look for an April or June UY, but keep an eye on other UY as well. If you find a better and/or cheaper contract on a different UY, it might work anyway.

Smaller contracts give you more flexibility should you sell later. Instead of selling your one 200 point contract, you can sell only 100 points and still have 100 left. Most contracts are larger due to Disney's minimums so any owner wanting to buy some additional points usually wants a smaller contract. Higher demand means a higher price.

Bill

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A point should be made that BUYING a smaller contract (<100 pts) is frequently going to COST you more as well on the resale market, which will likely offset any benefit you get from selling it at a higher price. (Though it is possible if you are selling in a down economy there would still be a strong benefit to having a smaller contract.) However, I do agree with the other points of flexibility though!

My opinion on a minimum first contract is to go somewhere around 150-200 points. This will get you enough for a week stay at most Studios most times of the year.

I'm one of the miscreants who didn't pay cash -- I bought back in '96 and financed it. We just shifted the funds we were already spending at WDW hotels to the payments. We put off buying a car until it was paid off.

So glad we did, seeing how the prices have skyrocketed. It would have been foolish to keep going and spending money on hotel rooms instead of purchasing DVC. Our financing rate was low, we had it paid off in less than 5 years. We added on with a cash payment a few years later.

I'm one of the miscreants who didn't pay cash -- I bought back in '96 and financed it. We just shifted the funds we were already spending at WDW hotels to the payments. We put off buying a car until it was paid off.

So glad we did, seeing how the prices have skyrocketed. It would have been foolish to keep going and spending money on hotel rooms instead of purchasing DVC. Our financing rate was low, we had it paid off in less than 5 years. We added on with a cash payment a few years later.

Enjoy!

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This is precisely what our plan is!!! We don't have any credit debt. Have never used a credit card to pay for a disney trip. We thought about it in the same manner. Simply "shifting" (As you so aptly put it) funds from one to the other. Like you I foresee us paying this off relatively quickly and adding on smaller cash contracts down the road.

I bought resale @ AKV last fall. My approach was cautious, I had thought about DVC for a long time and had stayed in a 1br villa in AKV before buying to 'test drive' it before I started. I'd stayed @ AKV in a regular room, but wanted to experience the 1 br (big mistake there - so much nicer to be in a 1br than a regular room .)
I figured out how many points I would need for my vacation using David's DVC rental point calculator site and then I bought half that number.
Why half? Because w/ this contract I have enough points w/ banking/borrowing to see me through 3 years of DVC vacations. By then (actually probably year 2) I'll be sure if DVC @ AKV is for me and then I'll buy the other half - in my case probably at a different resort but definitely w/ the same use year. If I'm wrong that smaller contract will be easier to sell.
Knowing I would be adding on, use year was important to me for another reason - ease of finding contract number 2 in the same use year as contract #1, so I looked at % of contracts in various months because I didn't want a use year with few contracts at a resort I might want to add on at (in my case BWV or BC) - for example of the use years suggested to you BWV has 11.9% April use year and 13.4% June use year - if after a couple of years your DD decides her favorite resort is AKV and you want to add there, or stay club using DVC points, then it would be easier to find a June AKV resale because of it having 8.5% June v 3.8% April use year.
Not suggesting this approach is for everyone, just some of the things I thought about as I began the process.
The bit extra I'll pay in closing is the price I'll pay w/ this strategy.

I bought resale @ AKV last fall. My approach was cautious, I had thought about DVC for a long time and had stayed in a 1br villa in AKV before buying to 'test drive' it before I started. I'd stayed @ AKV in a regular room, but wanted to experience the 1 br (big mistake there - so much nicer to be in a 1br than a regular room .)
I figured out how many points I would need for my vacation using David's DVC rental point calculator site and then I bought half that number.
Why half? Because w/ this contract I have enough points w/ banking/borrowing to see me through 3 years of DVC vacations. By then (actually probably year 2) I'll be sure if DVC @ AKV is for me and then I'll buy the other half - in my case probably at a different resort but definitely w/ the same use year. If I'm wrong that smaller contract will be easier to sell.
Knowing I would be adding on, use year was important to me for another reason - ease of finding contract number 2 in the same use year as contract #1, so I looked at % of contracts in various months because I didn't want a use year with few contracts at a resort I might want to add on at (in my case BWV or BC) - for example of the use years suggested to you BWV has 11.9% April use year and 13.4% June use year - if after a couple of years your DD decides her favorite resort is AKV and you want to add there, or stay club using DVC points, then it would be easier to find a June AKV resale because of it having 8.5% June v 3.8% April use year.
Not suggesting this approach is for everyone, just some of the things I thought about as I began the process.
The bit extra I'll pay in closing is the price I'll pay w/ this strategy.

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Very good thinking. We stumbled on our June UY (just bought the best deal and most loaded contract and it happened to be June UY). Then we added on with an Aug UY and while it hasn't been a huge issue I do wish we stuck with ALL June UY. At any rate, your plan was smart. Here is a link to % of UY at each resort: http://dvcnews.com/index.php/dvc-program/owning-dvc/1557-distribution-of-dvc-points-by-use-year...they need to update those charts as it's from 2011... now we have VGF too.

We purchased our first resale in 2011 and it was 400 points and I am already adding on. We have let friends and family use our points as well as taken friends an family with us. We have also found we like going 2 times a year..
I originally purchased beach club points since we absolutely fell in live with the resort. While it's great, I don't like that it doesn't have a grand villa. Therefore I beer have a booking advantage for a grand villa. We are adding on at BLT to have PTs in a monorail resort with grand villas and the maintenance fees are relatively low...
You will not regret your purchase I love that disney is a tradition in our family!